Vamp-stay for shoes.



VAMP STAY FOR SHOES.

(Application filed Mar. 5, 1901.

(No Model.)

WITNESSES: S INVENTOR:

Jammy ATTORNEYS.

ms wnm PETERS co; Mow-mun, WASHINGYON. n. c.

U ITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

JOHN H. OHARMBURY, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

VAMP-STAY FOR SHOES.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent N 0. 717,348, dated December 30, 1902.

Application filed March 5, 1901.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN H. CHARMBURY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vamp-Stays for Shoes; and. I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to that class of'stays for the vain ps of shoes each stay of which is formed in a separate piece from the vamp, the said piece being folded on itself and the folded edge being arranged to project beyond the edge of the vamp, so that the vamp-stay will take the strain at the center of its folded edge, and thus prevent the vamp from tearing. Heretofore in the ordinary practice of recent years the stays, folded as above stated, have had a hard round edge, due to the folding, extend from end to end of the stay, and

the vamp was of double thickness from end to end, and thus where it extended under the vamp materially increased the thickness or bulk of leather over the instep of the foot. Obviously this did not conduce to the comfort of the wearer. Because of the thickness of the vamp-stay beneath the vamp the shape of the former soon impressed itself in clear outline defined upon the outside of the vamp, and thus detracted from the sightly appearance of the shoe. Furthermore, the prior construction referred to was objectionable in the manufacture of the shoe, because in sewing the usual line of stitching along the upper edge of the vamp when the needle struck the hard thick and round (in cross-section) edge due to doubling the needle glancing off said edge frequently threw the stay out of proper place beneath the vamp preliminary to sewing, and this also detracted from the appearance of the finished shoe. This same objectionable result was oftentimes effected by the pressure-footof the machine sticking, indirectly, the thick doubled edge beneath the vamp, and thus shifting it from its true and proper place. Again, in the construc- Serial No. 49,817. (No model.)

tion heretofore common the edges of the stay back from the curved folded edge were full, the fullness being due to the stretching of the leather at the folded edge more than the parts back from said edges to secure a desired curvature of the folded edge in plan, and thus when the stay thus constructed was sewed in the shoe, the stretched and curved edge projecting from the vamp and the line of stitching passing through the full parts near the center of the stay, the tension of the vamp, due to the pressure of the foot therein, came upon the thread rather than upon the stretched part having tensile resistance due to the prior stretching, thus breaking the thread. These objections are avoided or greatly reduced because of my improved construction hereinafter described.

It will be understood from the foregoing that the objects of the invention are to reduce the bulk and discomfort incident to the use of independent vamp-stays and yet retain the strength thereby secured in the shoe, to secure greater neatness of appearance when the upper and vamp are joined, to prevent the needle from glancing off the vamp-.

stay when sewing the same in place, and thereby tending to shift or displace the stay and injure the appearance of the sewing, to reduce the tendency of the thread in the line ,of sewing at the vamp-stay to break because of the stretching of the vamp because of the fullness in the stays as heretofore commonly furnished, and to secure other advantages and results, some of which may be referred to hereinafter more fully.

The invention consists in the improved vamp-stay for shoes and in the arrangements and combinations of parts of the same,all substantially as will be hereinafter set forth, and

finally embraced in the clauses of the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the several fig ures, Figure 1 is a plan of a blank vamp-stay of one form of construction. Fig. 2 is a rear plan of this form of stay complete. Fig. 3 is a section of the same, taken on line m. Fig. 4 is a plan of the same. Fig. 5 is a plan of a piece of leather from which blanks of preferred construction have been struck. Fig. 6 is a plan of a blank of said preferred construction. Fig. 7 is a rear View of a vampstay complete of said preferred construction, and Fig. 8 is a front view.

In said drawings, a, indicates the body of the vamp-stay. 5 indicates the lap-tongue at the front of said body. The said lap-tongue b is struck out with the body portion a from a piece of leather 0, Fig. 5, so that it projects in ordinary practice from said body portion a quarter of an inch, more or less, from the normal curvature e of the front of said body portion, the said tongue 1) preferably being of semicircular form of a radius considerably smaller than the radius upon which the normal front edge e of the body portion is formed. The small tongue is folded over upon the body portion a of the leather, as shown in Fig. 2, and when thus folded the lateral edges of the tongue lie in from the edges of said body portion, so that there is a double thickness of leather toward the center of the stay, away from the lateral edges thereof, but no hard doubled edges at the sides. The stay thus folded is subjected to pressure of a press or die, so that at the folded or doubled edge a bead-like boss 71. is formed adapted to lie along the edge of the vamp out from beneath the same, while the plies or laps of leather which underlie the vamp do not present a folded edge, but have What may be called a stepped edge, the graduated thickness of which is such that the presser-foot and needle will not move the, stay from position. The said side edges are devoid of a hard rounding, such as would cause a distinct outlining of the stay on the vamp. To reduce the thickness of the stay, the tongue 1) extends from the front edge back only a quarter of an inch,more or less, and thus a greater portion of the body of the stay inserted between the vamp and lining is of but a single thickness and the shoe is rendered less bulky and rigid at the instep and is therefore more conducive to a comfortable Wearing; but inasmuch as the stay is doubled at the line of stitching d, by which said tongue is held in place in the shoe, the said vamp-stay will be held in place with the same security as heretofore. To further reduce the cost of the stay, I prefer to recess the rear in the said recess g, and thus there is a less wastage of stock and greater economy of construction. After the tongue b is turned back to lie at the rear of the body portion, as indicated, the said stay is subjected to pressure in connection with heated jaws or dieplates and is pressed so that the tongue will hold its position close to the back of the body portion. The said heated jaws are so formed, preferably, that at the front of the stay and at the center of the forward edge thereof a projecting rib or boss h is formed, against which the edge of the vamp impinges. Said rib is substantially straight at its inner side, so as to lie close against the edge of the vamp and conform to the same.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is- 1. The improved vamp stay herein described, comprising a body portion a, and a tongue I), lying at one side of said body portion and narrower than said body portion, said narrow tongue being turned against the back of said body portion, a folded edge being formed near the forward central part of the stay and the lateral edges of the tongue lying in from the lateral edges of the said body portion, the said folded edge being turned forward to form a rib or boss h, substantially as set forth.

2. The improved vamp stay herein described, comprising a body portion 0., having at the center of the forward edge a tongue narrower than said forward edge and turned back against the body portion, the edges f, at the opposite sides of said tongue lying in from the side edges of the body portion, subst-antially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 15th day of February, 1901.

JOHN H. CHARMBURY.

Witnesses:

CHARLES H. PELL, C. B. PITNEY. 

